Among the latest crop of young Indian bowlers, Harshit Rana left a lasting impression on everyone in the recently-concluded IPL 2024 season.
Rana played a key role in Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) third IPL title win, returning with 19 wickets from 11 innings at an average and economy rate of 20.15 and 9.08 respectively.
Besides his stunning bowling display, Harshit Rana caught everyone’s attention with his on-field aggression.
A noteworthy incident that took place was when KKR faced Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Eden Gardens on March 23. The right-arm pacer had given a ‘flying kiss’ send-off to Mayank Agarwal after dismissing the SRH opener.
In another match against Delhi Capitals, Rana brought out ‘finger on lips’ celebration after taking a wicket.
Harshit Rana was charged guilty a second time for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct. This time he was fined 100 percent of his match fee while also being banned for one game.
In an exclusive chat with The Indian Express, Rana made it clear that he has no intention to cut down on his aggression.
“Sawaal hi nahi hota (Not a chance). Next time I will make sure that I will not use it as a send-off. This is my cricket. I have always played my cricket like this. Mai off the field bahut fun hun aap kisi se puch lo but ab cricket field dosti karne thodi na aaye hai (I am a fun-loving guy off the field but on the cricket pitch, I am not there to make friends, I want to win). Abhishek Porel smacked me for 16 runs in my first over. Ab chakke lagenge to ego hurt hoga na, smile toh nahi karunga na (If someone hits you for sixes you can’t laugh). In the next over, I took his wicket, the celebration was my redemption but I got banned,” Rana said.
When asked about the stereotype that cricketers from Delhi tend to be aggressive, Harshit replied: “This tag has been given to us. Hum Dilli wale hai, emotional hai, aur dil se khelte hai (We are from Delhi we play cricket with our heart). This Delhi’s aggression has made Virat Kohli the Virat Kohli he is. Ishant Sharma played 100 Test matches, and Rishabh Pant did that miracle at Gabba. Gautam Gambhir won two World Cup finals for India.”
Harshit Rana will be looking to make a further impact in the upcoming domestic competitions, thereby earning a place in the Indian squad in near future.
